Thread by @NBCNews

After two Black women were pushed out of Google, more sources are coming forward with claims that Google offered them mental health care when they brought complaints of sexism or racism to HR. nbcnews.to/3v1N40a

(1/8) #NBCNewsThreads

Google employees went to HR after colleagues made comments about their hair, skin color or asked if they’d sleep with their coworkers. HR officials gave them one option: address their mental health through company resources or take medical leave. (2/8)

“It felt belittling. I wasn’t in shock because I had heard it before. I had watched other leaders in the organization take these mental health leaves and then disappear. It was clear that they weren’t going to take me seriously,” one Black Google employee said. (3/8)

Experts say the situation highlights the ways HR can play an active role in discrimination.

“The broader pattern of HR...continuing to make the person who was discriminated against the problem. Those are patterns we have seen in our research” said Dr. Lauren Morgan Roberts (4/8)

.@timnitGebru said she sought help from HR before being ousted.

“They’re like, ‘Well if there’s something wrong with you, here are all these therapy resources.’ I would respond that no amount of support system is going to get rid of Google’s hostile work environment.” (5/8)

A white manager said they faced the same treatment after advocating better pay for Black colleagues. (6/8)

Google has often highlighted its commitment to a diverse, inclusive workforce. But the company's 2020 report revealed that Google saw a less than 1% increase of Black hires from 2019 to 2020. The percentage of Latino employees rose by just .2% that year. (7/8)

Google addressed the allegations in a statement, saying all claims are "investigated rigorously."

“We have a well-defined process for how employees can raise concerns and we work to be extremely transparent about how we handle complaints." (8/8)